Snapped: USC's Win Streak Ends in 3-1 Loss to LBSU

Hey everyone,

Trojans were on a solid 4-game winning streak and looking to make it 5 against an LBSU team that they'd just edged out the night before. But they'd have to do it shorthanded. USC missed Jason Bush, Coach Wilbur, and Josh Frazier. Cory Adler was fighting through a foot injury that hindered him throughout the game. Facing all of that and a raucous LBSU crowd, the Trojans had a tough task for the night.

Period 1

At first, USC seemed up to it. Phil Adams started off what would turn out to be a remarkable performance with a shutout first period. Offense was hard to come by in general for the Trojans, but a powerplay midway through the period was just what the doctor ordered. Dante Caravaggio sent a pass over left wing for Noah Comisar. He broke into the zone, and then sent a cross-ice pass onto the stick blade of a marked Adam Zacuto. As he was hauled down, Zacuto still had the presence of mind to snipe the glove-side high corner from his knees. Simply ridiculous. 1-0 Trojans after 1.

Period 2

The lack of personnel was bound to catch up to USC at some point though. The Trojans ran out of gas in the second period and the 49ers made them pay. On a 5-on-3, James Robelotto finished a cross-crease pass to tie the game up 1-1. The score stayed knotted at 1 for a good chunk of the period, but only by virtue of the skill of Adams and the luck of early referee whistles. On at least two occasions, loose pucks were sent into the net moments after the official blew the play dead. The luck, however, would even out. On another man advantage, the 49ers caught a bit of a break. A shot from the point came wide of a screened Phil Adams. Unfortunately for USC, Adams never saw the original shot and simply went into a butterfly position and waited for a shot to come. The loose puck settled behind the net. LBSU's Sean Hoang noticed the frozen Adams and wrapped the puck around the far post and into the goal. The Trojan offense meanwhile was stuck in the mud the whole period, unable to break cleanly into 49er territory. 2-1 LBSU after 2.

Period 3

Adams continued his monster play in net, but unfortunately for USC, the best defense did not amount to any offense. Shots were still hard to come by for the Trojans. Running a shortened bench, the team looked flat tired. The game remained close down the wire, but eventually USC's time ran out. With Adams on the bench for the extra attacker, Sean Hoang gathered a dump in off of the end boards and stuffed it home from the crease. That sealed the game with 17 seconds left, and the Trojans win streak ended in a 3-1 loss.

Some news/notes from the game:

- Nobody can blame Phil Adams for the loss. He kept this game from turning into a rout by using every inch of his body and pads to keep pucks from going behind him.

- Frustration with the refereeing from Friday's contest bled over into Saturday's game. During the third, USC was put shorthanded 5-on-3 when Coach Langille argued a little too colorfully for the referee's taste and gave the Trojans a bench minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.

- The forwards struggled in general, but kudos to both Cory Adler and Mitchell Landsinger. Adler, as I mentioned, played through pain the entire night. Landsinger was his usual aggressive, hard-skating self. They both played well in defeat.

- Scott Mason sat for two once again. Without the scoresheet handy in front of me, I believe it was a holding call in the first period. Mason has got to play more disciplined hockey if he wants the ice time to show off his underrated goal-scoring ability.

- Right after Adams got run during the third period, Matt Lewis protected his goaltender very literally. He threw a 49er down to the ice. Lewis definitely got his money's worth on that minor penalty.

- This loss struck me as very different from the 9 others this season. The Trojans have a great locker room camaraderie going. It just look like they got beaten by a hungry LBSU team and their own exhaustion. They'll have two weeks to rest up before their final game of the semester against this same LBSU team.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Zacuto - 13 (Comisar, Caravaggio) PP

2nd Period

NONE

3rd Period

NONE

Messy But Satisfying: USC Edges LBSU 3-2

Hey everyone,

Trojans entered this game on a 3-game tear. They faced a tough task against a bipolar 49ers team. One that lost to Cal State Fullerton but split with San Jose State. The Trojans swept this team in two games last year, but a lot changes from season to season. As a now determined team, here's how they handled the test:

Period 1

USC made a statement early, scoring just a few minutes into the game. Breaking into the zone with linemate Nick Helmer, Cory Adler found a loose puck off of Helmer's stick. Adler sent a sliding wrister through traffic from the high slot. It found daylight just inside the near-side post to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead. The rest of the period was all Long Beach State in every important area but the scoreboard. 49er Sean Hoang cherrypicked for a good chunk of the period. It nearly paid off twice as he had two clean breakaways in on USC netminder Zack Keith. The Trojan goalie stoned Hoang on one, and Keith's best friend, the crossbar, rejected the second. Keith played a fantastic first, but the 49ers eventually broke through with under two minutes to play. A shot from the point by blueliner Nick Kemp deflected in front onto the stick of Bradley Roberts. The LBSU forward made no mistake, firing a quick wrister just under the crossbar to knot the game at one goal apiece. USC could have easily been trailing by two if not for Keith.

Period 2

USC looked much better this period, evening the scoring chances and breaking up offensive movement from the 49ers in the neutral zone. The Trojans were rewarded midway through the second, this time on a powerplay. Adam Zacuto cycled the puck to Jason Bush at the center of the point. He fired a slapshot through heavy traffic in front of goaltender Ricky St. Louis. It appeared to deflect downward and squeezed through St. Louis' five-hole into the net. Mitchell Landsinger claims to have tipped it, but Bush was credited with the goal. The biggest moment for USC, however, came later in the period. Adler rode a retreating 49er defenseman hard into the boards behind his own net. The referee (much more on the referee coming) ruled it a 5-minute major for Checking from Behind. With a lot of time to kill, the Trojans then gave everyone in the building a clinic on how to penalty kill. USC held the 49ers to only 1 shot on the entire 5-minute advantage and LBSU barely entered the Trojan zone the whole time. Penalty killers broke up passes in the neutral zone and sent them down ice time and time again. Pucks that did enter USC territory were quickly turned away. It was playing shorthanded at its very finest. Trojans headed to the locker room with a 1 goal edge.

Period 3

This was an insane, complicated, and downright bizarre period of hockey. The whistle never seemed to stop blowing for one reason or another. In total, 15 penalties and a penalty shot were called in that 20-minute span. The most insane sequence came midway through the period. During a stoppage of play after a Trojan was sent to the penalty box, 49er captain Joe Nalley asked the referee to measure Zack Keith's pads. He claimed they were too wide for regulation size. They were. Keith was removed the game and USC was assessed a minor penalty for illegal equipment. Phil Adams came in off the bench absolutely cold to replace Keith. To make matters worse, Coach Wilbur asked assistant captain Dante Caravaggio to ask the referee to measure St. Louis' pads. Because his were regulation size, the Trojans were given another minor penalty, this time for delay of game. That gave LBSU a full two-minute 5-on-3 advantage with another full powerplay to follow if they couldn't score on that. Trojan penalty killing was good in the game.... but not that good. Less than a minute in, the 49ers cashed in with Nalley finishing a feed across the crease to the doorstep. The one-timer tied the game up. A penalty on LBSU helped USC kill the rest of the time.

Then the referee evened things up. With the Trojans already on a man advantage, a shot came into the crease. It was saved by St. Louis and the rebound was covered. Unfortunately for Long Beach, it was covered by defenseman Nick Kemp in the crease. Automatic penalty shot. Kemp hated the call and argued his way straight into the penalty box for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Although Zacuto was surprisingly stuffed on the penalty shot (more on that later), but the Trojans had an extended 5-on-3 anyway. With less than ten seconds left in that 5-on-3, "Handy" Nick Helmer lived up to his nickname. He found open space to drive to the net from the near boards. St. Louis positioned himself to block out the near side of the goal. Helmer cruised around him and sent a backhand home to give the Trojans a 3-2 lead. After scoring, he went flying in the air horizontally a la Bobby Orr. A great moment. On the other end, Adams finished the great performance Keith started. He made his usual complement of sprawling saves to preserve the USC lead. Making some truly miraculous point blank saves. With 17 seconds left in the contest, Helmer had a chance to cap the game with an empty net to shoot at and the puck on his backhand inside the 49er blueline. He elected not to shoot, but to instead draw the penalty. He got the penalty, but didn't seal the game. Off of the draw in their zone, LBSU came streaming in with a chance to tie it. A shot from near the bottom of the far faceoff circle appeared to go in for a split second, but just hit the outside of the net. A draw with one second left in the game was won by USC and sent down ice to preserve the 3-2 win. A great way to get your fourth straight.

Some news/notes from the contest:

- Both Trojan goaltenders deserve praise for a great combined effort. That first period could have been a bloodbath of goals, but Keith stood his ground. Adams came in cold and extinguished 49er dreams of a road win. Impressive performance from both men.

- Cory Adler was an asset and a liability in the game. He took 9 penalty minutes, but scored a key first period goal. That type of physical, aggressive play, though, is Adler's signature. Hard to ask him to change when he's having success offensively and clicking with Helmer.

- I may have jinxed Adam Zacuto. Before he took his penalty shot, I mentioned how he was perfect in his career on penalty shots up until that point. He pulled his usual slow approach, backhand-to-forehand gloveside high corner move, but didn't get as much lift as he usually does. St. Louis, to his credit, read the play perfectly and shut Zacuto down. I would have bet a big chunk of money that he would have come through in that situation. Luckily for the team his scoring rival and former linemate Helmer came through shortly after. In any case, Zacuto didn't have a bad night, notching two assists.

- I mentioned the sharp number of penalties in the third period. Adding to that delay, both teams spent their timeouts. That third period never seemed to end.

- Speaking of penalties, 28 penalties and 1 penalty shot were called during the course of the game. The scoresheet only has room for 30 spots to be recorded.

- Watch out for LBSU captain Joe Nalley in Saturday's game. He seemed to be involved in shoving matches after just about every whistle in the third period. There is a lot of bad blood between Nalley and the Trojans. With a raucous home crowd egging him on, I wouldn't be surprised to see tempers flare.

- In his second to last home game ever, Matt Lewis is playing fantastic hockey. He was incredibly active in the game,

- Josh Frazier is sick again. Poor guy has been under the weather forever!

- Scott Mason took his requisite one penalty for the game in the second period.

- Mitchell Landsinger is playing with passion, especially shorthanded. I fully expect him to get a shorthanded goal before this season is done (he had one last season against San Diego State).

- The message boards were incredibly active for this game (41 posts, holy cow!!!). One of the big points of contention was my "bias" against Zack Keith. Let me address this. First off, I think the world of Keith as a person. He is a great guy with an awesome sense of humor (deadpan style). I've carpooled with the guy several times. Entering the season I had him tabbed as the clear starter.

But let me be clear, I am no homer. I am a journalist. If I call something happening on the ice, you'd better believe it's as close to the reality of what is happening on the ice as I can possibly get it. If a Trojan makes a bad play, I'll let you know about it just as surely as I'd bring you a good play. I think that's the only true way I can genuinely bring a listener to the game. From what I (and others who travel with the team) had seen prior to last night's game, Phil Adams has been, simply put, the better goaltender for USC. Although both had struggled with rebound control, Adams had kept more pucks out of the net on a consistent basis, and in most cases, in situations in which he had no business making any kind of a save. Keith had been solid but not spectactular, including giving up a goal from the red line.

The stats backed me up... Prior to the LBSU game, here are the season stats on the two netminders:

Phil Adams - 4.66 GAA, 86% save percentage

Zack Keith - 5.55 GAA, 79% save percentage

That's not huge, but it is an edge in both categories. I'll say it again, I am a journalist. I'm calling it like I see it out there, not one direction or the other. That all being said, Keith had a heckuva game last night and I'm excited to see if he can build on it.

- A funny piece of broadcasting at the end of the game. Andrew mistakenly called Phil Adams... John Adams. I joked that he was thinking of the beer and got confused. To my knowledge, there is no beer called John Adams. There, however, was a president called John Adams. I meant Sam Adams. Whoops! I'm sure my parents are proud.

- These two teams play out the rest of the semester. Another one Saturday (tonight) and another two weeks from yesterday.

Should be an exciting game, but what a great win for USC!

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Adler - 2 (Helmer)

2nd Period

Bush - 2 (Zacuto, Helmer) PP NOTE: Landsinger says he deflected this one, but since he got credit for one he didn't deflect earlier in the year, this is almost justice.

3rd Period

Helmer - 14 (Lewis, Zacuto) PP

Foot on the Throat: USC Rolls Stanford 8-2

Hey everyone,

The Trojans won their last two in dramatic fashion. Basement-dwelling Stanford was in town. This USC team needed a blowout win to show that they can finish off teams.

***FULL GAME AUDIO HIGHLIGHTS***

Period 1

USC looked good, but not great, to open the game. After a sluggish five minutes to start the game, Adam Zacuto woke the Trojans up with a perfectly placed top corner goal from the slot. Then, USC simply got opportunistic. Stanford goalie Sam Bowers was unable to control a shot from Matt Lewis at the point. Scott Mason jumped on the juicy rebound and made it 2-0 Trojans. The USC defense felt confident with Phil Adams in net and didn't allow a whole lot of chances.

Period 2

USC came out sluggish in the second and nearly paid the price. Adams was incredibly sharp in making reflex pad saves and last-second shoulder saves. He got a bit lucky when a sure Stanford goal was disallowed because it came after the whistle. The Trojans again showed a nose for golden opportunities midway through the second. On the powerplay, Dante Caravaggio blasted a shot from the blue line. Bowers made the save and appeared to have control, but Nick Helmer poked an apparently slightly loose puck into the net to make it 3-0 USC. Adams stood strong, but the shutout was not to be. A one-time Stanford shot from Pitch Lindsay appeared to be saved by Adams, but he was too far back in his net and the puck trickled over the line to cut into USC's lead. Coach Wilbur was frustrated with the Trojans' lackadaisical play and implored them to finish off the Cardinal.

Period 3

And that's exactly what USC did. Zacuto got it started with a fantastic defense-splitting move that got him in alone on Bowers. Zacuto finished off the breakaway as he always seems to, making it 4-1. Stanford responded with a controversial goal. On the man advantage, Adams made an initial save, but the puck kicked out to a Stanford forward. He fired at the empty net, and the puck looked and sounded like it hit the crossbar cleanly and pop out. According to the referee it was in the goal, trimming USC's lead to two goals again. It wouldn't stay that small for long. On the Trojans' next ensuing powerplay, Zacuto threw a puck into the crease. It squeaked loose from Bowers and Landsinger, who was right on top of the goalie, scored the goal. The next powerplay, Nick Helmer wasted no time. On the faceoff to start the man advantage, Helmer worked through the Cardinal defense and fired a puck wide of goal. It hit the endboards sharply and came back just barely in front. Helmer followed his own rebound and punched in the weird angle shot to make it 6-2 USC. Charlie Mach came in on a 2-on-1 with Max Szentveri and elected to shoot, beating Bowers cleanly. Looking for the hat trick, Zacuto broke in with Frazier 2-on-1. Although Zacuto had a very good chance at scoring himself, he made the unselfish play by hitting Frazier back door with a perfect pass. Frazier hit the empty net to make it 8-2 Trojans. They beat the living daylights out of the Cardinal in that third period.

Some news/notes for the Trojans:

- Zacuto and Helmer each had two goals tonight and are jockeying back and forth for the team lead in goals. Helmer currently holds a 13-12 edge and earned his 13th (see the third period recap). You can tell there is a very healthy rivalry between the two talented forwards.

- The two forward lines have been shuffled around again despite increasing chemistry. Coach Wilbur is looking for more scoring balance. Here's how he's going to do it... Cardinal line - Helmer, Adler, Frazier. Gold line - Zacuto, Comisar, Mach. This should further foster the rivalry between Helmer and Zacuto as they look to lead their respective lines to scoring proficiency.

- Phil Adams had another solid start. Both goals scored against were very close to being non-goals (one arguably should have been), but he continues to use his reflexes to make incredible saves. His play kept Stanford from keeping the game too close.

- Stanford made my job incredibly hard tonight. They lost their jerseys in transit and played with some players having numbers taped onto their back and others with blank practice jerseys.

Nearly any mention of a Stanford player save for the goalie could have been completely inaccurate.

- Elliot Dawson was rewarded for his diligence in practice and long games on the bench with some ice time with the first line. Dawson parked himself in front and nearly scored twice in the first period. In the third he had a funny moment where he fell out of the Trojan bench trying to come on for some powerplay time.

- James Anderson got absolutely robbed playing a similar role to Dawson's for USC. Helmer fed him a perfect pass in front of the net. Anderson appeared to make it 8-2 with a shot into the empty net. But hold on! The net was slightly off it's moorings and the goal was waved off.

- It was Andrew Magne's first game as a color commentator. The kid from Edina, MN knows his hockey. Great to have him on board.

Big games against Long Beach State next weekend. Should be exciting.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Zacuto - 11 (Frazier)

Mason - 4 (Lewis)

2nd Period

Helmer - 12 (Caravaggio) PP

3rd Period

Zacuto - 12 (Frazier)

Landsinger - 3 (Zacuto, Lewis) PP

Helmer - 13 PP

Mach - 2 (Bush)

Frazier - 4 (Zacuto)

Comeback Kids: Trojans Win 5-4 Shootout Thriller

Hey everyone,

USC was back in Southern California after a split in the desert. I'd speculated that last week's 5-4 win was a turning point in the season. With Coach Wilbur back behind the bench, the Trojans looked to keep it going against the rising Loyola Marymount Lions. Here's what happened:

Period 1

The Trojans night got off to a simply crazy start. Although 4 lines of forwards and every skating player but Mike Gawlik was present and accounted for, USC was missing a major piece... Goaltenders. Just like during "The I-5 Game", Adam Kwon was the only goaltender to make it to the arena to start the game. Phil Adams was out sick. Zach Keith's car broke down, delaying him 2 hours. Kwon started the game, his second EVER as an ice hockey goaltender. USC rallied in his defense this time. Just under 4 minutes into the game, Nick Helmer intercepted an errant pass and beat Lions goalie Collin O'Malley for a 1-0 Trojan lead. 18 seconds later, Charlie Mach hit Joshua Frazier on a backdoor play in front of O'Malley to make it 2-0. The Lions came roaring back. On a scrum in front, David Morris shoved a puck behind Kwon. Then, blueliner Bobby Arnold shot a puck from the far boards that snuck by Kwon to tie the game. The third string netminder rallied, however, making an unbelievable skate save on a shot from the slot. He let in 2 goals on 10 shots. Score tied 2-2 after 1.

Period 2

Keith arrived a little ways into the second period and dressed as fast as he could. The Trojans held for 11 and a half minutes and were about to make the switch during the next stoppage of play as Keith had just gotten ready. But he was just a little too late... Off of a shot wide of the near post, the puck rebounded in front to Jim McDonald, who made no mistake and sent it behind Kwon. Enough was enough for the Trojans and Kwon left the ice with USC in a 3-2 hole. The Lions would extend that. During the late stages of a USC powerplay, a puck passed to the point was intercepted and taken on a breakaway by Chris Mallaber. He juked around a cold Keith, and doubled the Lions' lead heading into the second period break.

Period 3

With more security behind them in goal, the Trojans rallied back. On a 5-on-3, Matt Lewis sent a shot on goal. O'Malley made the save, but the puck somehow popped up over his head and landed behind him before squirting over the line. A weird goal, but a crucial one that gave the Trojans more than 7 minutes to find the equalizer. That tying goal came on another interesting play down low. Under two minutes to go and the makeshift Cardinal line on the ice (Adler, McClanathan, and Helmer), with the puck tangled up down low. Adler tried a wraparound on the near post. O'Malley stoned him, but was caught up in the play. The loose puck was pulled away by McClanathan and passed for Helmer. "Handy" Nick Helmer then scored a wraparound goal inside the far post to tie the game up late. McClanathan was so fired up that he acted like he had scored (confusing me after I initially said Helmer scored it). The game went into overtime.

Overtime

Chances for both teams, but both netminders were strong. Read about an interesting refereeing play in the news/notes section. Still deadlocked, the game went into a shootout.

Shootout

The Trojans chose Adam Zacuto, Joshua Frazier, and Nick Helmer as their three shooters (NOT FIVE as I erroneously said on the broadcast). The Lions countered with David Morris, Chris Mallaber, and Jim McDonald. Zacuto proved again why he is USC's best penalty shot taker. Working in slowly, he pulled the puck back towards the goaltender's glove side and sniped the top corner. It's worked every time I've seen it and Zacuto says he is 7-7 lifetime with that move. Morris beat Keith with his move, but lost the puck off of his backhand before he could stuff it home. Next up, Frazier pulled a sweet move on O'Malley. He faked the wrist shot to freeze the goalie, then dragged it towards the near post before sliding the puck 5-hole between O'Malley's pads. Mallaber kept the Lions in the shootout by juking Keith and scoring on a sweet move in from the far boards. Helmer missed his chance to finish the game as the puck rolled off of his stick last second. Mcdonald's final chance hit the side of the net. USC mobbed Keith (even though he didn't have to make an actual shootout save) and the Trojans had sealed their second in a row in dramatic fashion.

Some news/notes from the game:

- "Handy" Nick Helmer added to his great season with bookending goals. Both showed his fantastic hockey instincts and clutch play. His second saved the day for USC. Helmer has regained the team scoring lead from Zacuto. On the scoresheet, he was credited with the winning shootout goal (incorrectly).

- Officially, this may go in the books as a tie. Any of these non-conference games are technically supposed to end in a tie, but both teams agreed to play it out for the fans. Strangely (and against ACHA rules), both teams skated the overtime session with 5 skaters instead of 4. On the official scoresheet, it gives USC a 3rd period goal with 1 second remaining. Bizarre, but I'm sure the Trojans at least feel like it was a win and LMU feels like it was a loss and that may be what counts.

- An interesting play came late in the overtime session. While Trojan forwards were offsides but retreating, Alex Hite blasted a puck from outside the blue line on goal. O'Malley made the save and left the puck for his defenseman who skated ahead. But the whistle blew with the linesman signalling intentional offsides. The draw initially came deep in Trojan territory, before the officials conferred and moved it to center ice (known in some referee circles as "The Circle of Shame" because blown calls faceoff from center). Although Lions fans were absolutely furious, this was absolutely the right call. The NCAA rulebook (the same one used in the ACHA), states in Section 36, A.R. 6 that play should continue without the offsides being called. If Hite had scored, the goal would have been disallowed. Everyone seems to criticize the officials for doing a bad job, but this was great refereeing.

- Coach Wilbur is back and you can see the difference. USC's forechecking was unbelievable in this game. LMU's breakout went nowhere and the Trojans created a lot of chances through pressure. The energy Wilbur brings is a huge X-factor and should inspire the team to keep playing well.

- I'm still loving what I'm seeing from that Gold line, but it may be broken up for a period of time. Late in the first, Noah Comisar took a hit in his own zone and hobbled to the bench. He skated a couple of more shifts during the course of the game, including one as late as the third, but couldn't continue. The Trojans shuffled everything around, moving McClanathan up to the Cardinal line and moving Zacuto down to the second. Not sure on Comisar's status.

- Scott Mason is frustrating the coaches by taking stupid penalties. Tonight's came in the offensive zone off of the play. It looked like Mason got caught retaliating. One of the coaches told me a couple of weeks ago that Mason seems to take a penalty every time he touches the ice. Hard to disagree.

- These two clutch wins back to back make it clear to me that USC is back, has turned the corner, and the rest of the Pac-8 should be scared. Under most circumstances, including the San Jose state and Pac-8 semifinal game last season, the Trojans would have folded and failed if they had to play Kwon for half of a game. Instead they rallied behind him tonight and won the first overtime/shootout game since Dante Caravaggio beat Long Beach State in Anaheim Ice early last year. Watch out, this Trojan team is finding it's stride on the ice and in the locker room.

Tune in tomorrow as USC looks to get it's second straight Pac-8 win against Stanford at home.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

1st Period

Helmer -10

Frazier - 3 (Mach)

2nd Period

NONE

3rd Period

Lewis - 2 (Hite, Mach) PP

Helmer - 11 (McClanathan) NOTE: I'd give Adler the second assist, but the referee didn't

SHOOTOUT

Zacuto - SCORED

Frazier - SCORED

Helmer - MISSED

A Win is a Win: Trojans Snap Losing Streak With 5-4 Win Over ASU

Hey everyone,

If ever USC needed a win it was in this game. They had a nearly intact roster but needed to break up a 5-game losing streak to show themselves and the rest of the league that they hadn't faded off of the Pac-8 contender map. Before the game, the team was confident that they could get a huge road win. Here's what happened:

***FULL GAME AUDIO HIGHLIGHTS***

Period 1

Perhaps the most key decision beyond anything else in the game was giving Phil Adams the start in net. Adams played a simply ridiculous 1st period. One-timer from the crease? No problem. Breakaway chance? No worries. Adams helped weather the Sun Devils early storm. That allowed the offense to take advantage of ASU goaltender Andrew Horine. Midway through the period, Helmer threw a cross-ice pass up to the near point to Alex Hite. The defenseman sent a sliding wrister along the surface of the ice that glided past Horine inside the near post. Later, Jason Bush fired a shot from the point that missed cleanly, but bounced straight back off of the end-boards onto the stick of Helmer. "Handy" Nick Helmer finished it off with a rainbow-style shot that flipped over Horine into the goal. Then, with 13.8 seconds left in the period, Joshua Frazier found a Charlie Mach rebound and launched it top shelf to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead heading into the break. The Devils swapped goaltenders during the intermission, bringing in Scott Czarnik. Was USC the best team in that period? Probably not, but they were better where it counted.... on the scoreboard.

Period 2

Early in the period both teams came out with a head of steam. With Mach and Noah Comisar on an odd-man rush, Mach found his linemate with a pass across the low slot. Comisar finished it off to give USC a 4-goal edge. Adams continued to stand on his head almost literally, looking great even when ASU scored late in the second. He made the first two initial saves, was sprawled out on the ice long enough for the Sun Devils' Moore to finish off a goal in the top half of the net. We would hear from him again later....

Period 3

ASU had chance after chance on the powerplay for the first half of this period, but Adams and the defense held strong on the penalty kill. Eventually though, the powerplay came through for ASU. With around 6 minutes left, Moggel got a puck at the near point, and hit a slap shot towards goal. It pinballed off of several players in front and into the net. 4-2 was the score. However, two Devils penalties with 4:00 left killed off ASU's momentum. Although the Trojans couldn't score on the 5-on-3, they scored right after. Matt Lewis hit a slapshot towards goal with 1:34 left that was tipped in by Frazier for his second goal. The three-goal lead with little time remaining seemed to seal up the game. Not so. With the goaltender pulled, Joe Moore scored two goals 15 seconds apart for his hat trick. The second one left 48 seconds on the clock. Saeger had a chance to be the hero on a low breakaway, but Adams barely kept it from going through his 5-hole. It came down to the last second, but USC held on for an immeasurably huge win. As I said on the broadcast and after the game, an unnecessarily exciting victory.

Here's some news/note from the game:

- This one stat tells the story of how Phil Adams won the game for the Trojans. 56-34. That's the shot count for each team. ASU had the 56. USC had 34. Phil had 52........ 52 saves that is. He was absolutely unreal... He made saves with every part of his body he could, twisting, contorting, diving, doing everything he could to keep pucks out. These were not easy saves for Phil but he came through. Funny enough, he was up until 4:30 AM the night before and slept in until 3:30 PM today. Adams gave me a huge bear hug after the game.

- Speaking of late night antics... for a period of time last night, Adams, Keith, and Adam Kwon (all three Trojan goaltenders) were in the same bed watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

- Joshua Frazier had a clutch performance. His two goals came with less than two minutes left in the first and third periods. He had the game winner and spent the whole game in the right place at the right time. A great performance from him in his second game back on the ice.

- That second line Frazier was on looked very very good. They were responsible for 3 of the 5 Trojan goals and really seemed to be clicking. Comisar and Mach have always seemed to have chemistry (Mach had great hustle this game as well), but Frazier really completes it all as a big scoring threat.

- Michael Gawlik had a bad second period. He took 3 penalties, the last of which ASU scored on. Gawlik made up for it later with solid defensive play and a lot of big hits.

- There was an interesting situation for USC heading to the locker room after 2 periods. I'm not exactly positive if it was a scratched Division 2 or a Division 1 player, but it was definitely a player associated with ASU that confronted the Trojans. The pink blazer-wearing man jawed at the team before grabbing Scott Mason by the jersey and Jason Bush by the face mask. A scuffle ensued. The assailant was booted out of the arena with apologies from ASU's team president.

- What was the biggest difference in this USC team on the ice tonight that got them the win? Was it more physical play? Better offensive chemistry? Better play in net? All of these helped, but the biggest key was that they simply wanted it more tonight. They played with passion and desire and it got the job done. What a game.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

Period 1

Hite - 3 (Helmer, Adler)

Helmer - 9 (Bush, Zacuto)

Frazier - 1 (Mach, Comisar)

Period 2

Comisar - 2 (Mach)

Period 3

Frazier - 2 (Lewis)

Desert Disaster: Trojans Stumble to 7-2 Loss Against ASU

Hey everyone,

USC entered the night on their second four-game losing streak of the season. Trojan fans had reason to be optimistic entering the night though. With the exception of Max Ernst, the full roster of skaters was ready to go with no DQ's. They were still missing Coach Wilbur (celebrating his birthday back in Southern California), but could they take advantage of a full roster on opposing ice?

Period 1

The answer is absolutely not. Four minutes into the game, ASU notched two goals 24 seconds apart to take an early lead. Alex Moggel and Joe Moore notched the goals for the Sun Devils. The first one came off of a bad Dante Caravaggio turnover (he made up for it later). The second one came on a top shelf shot from the faceoff circle. Moore then added a second one with a nifty move in front to make it 3-0. Charlie Mach chipped away at lead on a nice feed in front by Noah Comisar (assist credited to Jason Bush as well as Comisar). But before the period was done, Heinze scored on an ASU odd man rush after a nice pass from Moggel found him alone. The Sun Devils only had 11 shots in period, but slipped 4 by Zach Keith during a major off-night for the Trojan goaltender. USC had only 2 shots themselves. An awful period of Trojan hockey.

Period 2

No goals in this period, just a couple of controversial no-goal calls that went both ways. The first one went against USC. Joshua Frazier and Noah Comisar came in on a two-on-one rush. Frazier blasted a slapshot that was saved. The rebound landed on Comisar's stick who fired at a relatively empty net. The puck was fired toward the near side of the net, but popped out near the far post. The referee signaled goal two seconds later, but then quickly changed his mind to no goal. Looking at Jeff Lewis' tape, it was certainly unclear what the puck exactly hit. On the other end, Moggel was set up by a beautiful pass down low. He came alone in front of Keith, and sent a low shot in. The puck was slowed by Keith and seemed to squeak backwards. Keith fell backwards on top of it, but it was right by the line. After discussion, the play was ruled no goal. It was certainly a better period for USC, but the deficit was still three goals.

Period 3

The line shows that ASU scored three to USC's one goal.... but one goal tells the story. Breaking out of his own zone, Mike Sasse dumped a puck in from the red line. Some combination of the bouncing puck and generally sloppy play allowed the puck to squeak past Keith. That goal essentially killed off USC's chances as it put them behind 4 goals. The one Trojan goal, by the way, came off of a great effort by Nick Helmer. He fought through three Sun Devils and a high stick, got a puck on goal. The rebound kicked out to Adam Zacuto who finished it off.

Some news and notes:

- Without seeing UW play yet, it's clear to me that ASU is the team to beat in the Pac-8. They have a lot of chemistry, solid defensive play, and a deeper team than Oregon. That showed in their performance against USC tonight.

- The first two lines reuniting was considered a major event. In a poll on this blog, you, the readers of this site, voted that the lack of a complete first line was the biggest factor in the UCLA sweep. The result on the ice at least tonight? Not impressive for most of the game. The first line looked very out of sync until the third period. The second line played better, generating opportunity after opportunity, but struggled to finish off chances.

- I've been saying this all season, but Phil Adams may win the starting slot for good with a big game on Saturday. Keith had a major off night. Yes, all of the goals weren't his fault (blame bad turnovers and odd-man rushes), but the ones that were clearly were. We'll see what Phil can do tomorrow

- Matt Lewis took a heavy hit in front of his own blue line, with his head snapping back against the ice. He was fine, but he had one very concerned fan up with me in the press box. Michelle Lewis was wearing the extra headset, and had her hands over her mouth even long after Matt had skated away. Ahhh, the agony of a hockey parent.

- Clark McClanathan had a nice blocked shot in the third. It didn't hit in an easy spot though, catching him just above the knee. He limped over to the bench, and looks like he'll just have the bruise.

- Max Ernst was out with back spasms.

- This team needs the energy of Coach Wilbur in the locker room. They have yet to win a single game this year without him behind the bench.

- Trojans on a major skid. They're 2-9 on the season now and on a 5 game losing stretch. A road win tomorrow would boost spirits... and believe me they need it.

That's all for me... Tune in tomorrow night at 5:00 Pacific.

OFFICIAL TROJAN SCORING

Period 1

Mach - 1 (Bush, Comisar)

Period 2

NO SCORING

Period 3

Zacuto - 10 (Helmer)